


As long as shadows fall, we'll remember

by Maitoparrakas



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 12:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maitoparrakas/pseuds/Maitoparrakas
Summary: Mourning a loss of both a mentor and a friend by building something he'll be remembered for.





	As long as shadows fall, we'll remember

**Author's Note:**

> The player character in this fic is loosely based on my own character choices in GW 2, relevant ones being that they're a sylvari engineer who joined Order of Whispers. I didn't want to give them the same name, so they are referenced as their order rank, Lightbringer. The idea of this fic is kind of to give one explanation why we never see a Risen version of our mentor in the game. I hope you enjoy this short piece, since it's honestly my first time writing a fic in ages.

It was an early afternoon, and the bright sunlight left hardly any shadows to hide in at the battle-ravaged Claw Island. The stench of burning flesh still lingering broke a crack on the otherwise almost serene scene, similar to the fallen pieces of a mirror laying on a ground after it had been smashed. Lionguard had finally finished burning the Risen corpses and begun transporting remaining bodies of uninfected soldiers to the city in order to give them a proper burial. Unfortunately, most families in Lion's Arch would receive only a note and a monetary apology for loss of a loved one. For those who came beyond the Arch's gates, it would be a small miracle if the word ever reached the soldier's town of origin. In these times you hardly knew if that town was still standing at all.

There was a moment of silence from the frantic rebuilding for the transfer of deceased since the surviving members of the Lionguard gathered to the docks to send their fallen brethren to their last heroic voyage back home. The sylvari Lightbringer, one of those who had initially warned the Claw Island of the danger it had been about to face, and later allied the tree Orders to reclaim it from the dragon minion and its Risen army, did not take part in the ceremony. Partly for not having a strong connection to the death or with the living, partly since they had their own ceremony to be held. They made their way outside the fort, following the left coastline until they reached the place, a small, unnatural crater on the ground.

They had bought a tree sapling from a local farmer while they had been gathering rebuilding supplies for the fort. Even though they were sylvari, that did not automatically mean that they had a green thumb. So, they had been concerned if the sapling would survive in the land that had withstood the battle with the Risen and the plague that still had its roots burrowed in these lands, yet the few of the Lionguard with background in farm-handling they had spoken to assured that the tree would be taken care of.

They patted the loose ground around the now buried sapling and tied it to a piece of wood that they had found, most likely a part of broken ballista remains. They got up and took a look at what they've made. It was kind of rough, though it'll manage. At least if someone more competent were to take pity and decided to help it make look like a decent memorial.

They opened a bottle, another thing they had bought from that farmer, and took a sip. They winced a bit, still not used to the taste of this really dry cider, yet they took an another and poured the rest of the bottle for the tree.

"Honestly, I still don't understand what was it with you and apples", they spoke, to no one who could hear them, "you never told me."

\---

All their effort to save the Claw Island had failed, and due to the Watch Commander's foolish pride, it was now being overrun by the Risen. If they and the rest of the still surviving Lionguards didn't make it to the docks, they too would be sharing this fate.

"We need to hold them off or we'll never make it to the ship!" the sylvari yelled as they took a shot that would have brought down a living being, only to see the risen monster stagger from the impact and stand up again.

Tybalt, who had provided cover fire next to them, yelled back: "Leave that to me!" and brushed past the sylvari, knocking down and finishing the Risen in the process, and took off towards the main plaza.

"Tybalt, what are you.." It took a moment for them to realize his plans, and that they could not persuade him to return. "Wait, Tybalt! Take this!"

He turned back, and they tossed him a packet, a solid and hard object about a size of an apple that seemed to radiate strong energy despite its size.

"I don't want to see you again!" they yelled as a farewell.

Tybalt understood and grinned fiercely.

"Tell Demmi- ugh, how do people even come up with this stuff on fly- anyway, tell her to take care. Now haul your ass out of here!"

With that impromptu goodbye, he rushed forward to meet the enemy horde, while the remaining ones alive and standing pushed the gate close, sealing the casket for both him and the island. After they had cleared out the way to the docks and were prepared to launch the ship, a blast like a cannon shot could be heard coming from the island, the final sign of a life fading.

"Set sail, now!" Traheane commanded, and aided by a friend's sacrifice and miraculously favorable wind, they made a successful escape, setting their course towards Lion's Arch.

\---

The Lightbringer didn't recall much from the retreat itself, only the strong sensation of gripping the side of the ship and not taking even a glance away as the Claw Island withered smaller, even smaller and eventually disappeared into the horizon as if it had sunk beneath the waves. Quietly mourning, they felt their own barky hands dig deep into a fist, and small part not fully engrossed in memories wondered if they could get splinters from themselves.

They were not completely aware how long they stood there. Yet it was a familiar voice that brought them completely from the past to the present, saying: "An apple tree? I'm certain he'd appreciate that."

It was none other than the firstborn Trahearne, stepping next to the Lightbringer as the sun had begun its steady march downwards and the shadows began to stir. They did not try to cover how much they had been crying, and he seemed to understand, although his grief was nowhere as visible as theirs.

"I felt like it was appropriate for a memorial", the Lightbringer gathered what was left of themselves and finally motioned towards the sapling and continued solemnly: "at least he'll be remembered as long as this tree casts a shade."

Trahearne placed his hand on the shoulder of the other Sylvari and assured them: "And even beyond, his memory will be part of the Dream, my friend. Those of us still dreaming will learn heroism, comradeship, and hope from him."

"I can only hope that someone also picks up his brand of recklessness, or we are truly lost in this world", the Lightbringer remarked.

Trahearne answered with a rare smile that drifted away as he spoke: "That also. Yet we need to focus our attention on the awakened world, and the shared mission we have. We won a battle, but the war looms ahead of us. He gave us this chance to strike down Zhaitan and we have to see it succeed."

"I know, It's just that.. outside of the sylvari and the Grove, he was the first one who- He made the Order to feel like home away from home, place where I could belong to, when I was still an initiate", the Lightbringer tried to grasp the right words, but every one of them seemed as if they could not contain the blend of sorrow and gratitude they felt, yet they continued on: "I don't think I would have taken the same path if it were not for him. All that remains in me, and in the Dream, but for the rest of the world, he'll be gone like a ray of light, like a fleeting thought. Even this tree, one day, won't be there anymore. It feels so...definite."

Trahearne moved his gaze from the Lightbringer to the sapling and answered thoughtfully: "I understand that feeling well. All my years I've been trying to discover something that most have already forgotten, and at times, I feel I can only reach the closest layers to the surface, but never see the whole canvas, as if the passage of time itself has locked the missing pieces out of the landscape. In a way, people are similar, and death will never let you recover what you've lost. All you can do is hold to the pieces that you still have. Not to mention that I too, owe him a much, even before all this."

The Lightbringer, following Trahearne's gaze, asked: "I've been wondering, how exactly did you two meet?"

"We encountered each other while I was in one of my travels in Ascalon, in a search of knowledge about Orrian artifacts, and he was a part of his old legion. We fought side by side through an ancient tomb of horrors, and we've been linked ever since that adventure", Trahearne shared his tale, but left out the detail that it had been the same event that had cost Tybalt his warband and his hand. Some pieces are ones that you keep as yours only.

"All the way to Ascalon?", the other sylvari replied, "it never occurred me before, but you must be the most traveled among our kind."

"Well, it may be that Caithe and few others rival me, but that is correct. My wyld hunt has been a lonely road away from the Grove, but friends like Tybalt make it less lonely to travel. I'm sure you've experienced the same."

They nodded, and Trahearne continued: "Come now, we have much to do. I think that some of it can be discussed with drinks."

With that, the Lightbringer let Trahearne guide them away from the finished yet beginning memorial, and many hours, words and drinks afterward, as the sun passed over the edge of the horizon, the shadows' embracing cradle surrounded the mourning island with the chill comfort of a deep eve.

\---

In the coming months and years, the apple tree's growth was exponential, and it stood mighty as a reminder of death and life that could nourish afterwards even in the darkest shadows. It persisted during the fall of the Lion's Arch, and it was a known landmark for any Lionguard and many citizens. The Sylvari Lightbringer, more commonly now known as the Pact Commander, was rumored to be seen at the memorial every year during the anniversary, yet those who visited it saw only an empty bottle of an apple cider leaning next to the tree. However, the apples were the most delicious, and those soon became sought out by so many that Lionguard had to set special permit system for picking them. Some farmers from Kryta replanted the seeds from the tree to their own farms, hoping to achieve a success, but no similar legends were told of them.


End file.
